a friend just told me she's thinking of reading the count of monte-cristo because she really liked the 2002 movie, and as i was immediately giving her too much information about which translation she should read and whether it should be abridged, it got me to thinking. i feel bad recommending the unabridged version because it's 1200 pages, which is just rude. BUT. if you think of it as a book series instead of a single book, it wouldn't be that out there? and there is certainly enough plot for multiple books. i set myself the task of deciding where the cutoffs should be and what the books should be called, and here's what i came up with (spoiler-light):
THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, EPISODE I: THE PRISONER OF IF. the first 30 chapters, which would be about 280 pages in english if nothing were cut. goes up to the point when he's standing on his yacht off the coast of marseilles saying his edgy little line about taking the place of the god of vengeance in punishing the wicked.
THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, EPISODE II: THE SAVIOR OF SAINT SEBASTIAN. chapters 31-52, though i would probably cut several of them. about 286 pages in english if nothing were cut. starts with franz and albert's adventures in italy, includes bertuccio's backstory, ends with the beginning of the poison plot.
THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, EPISODE III: THE GARDENER OF AUTEUIL. chapters 53-83, about 342 pages before cuts, but some of those chapters should go. starts with eugΓ©nie at the opera, includes the dinner party at the house in auteuil, ends with the failed burglary and the death of a minor antagonist.
THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO, EPISODE IV: THE GOD OF VENGEANCE. chapters 84-117, about 304 pages. starts with the lead-up to the duel, includes the fall of the three major antagonists, ends with, well, the end.
it would be nice if parts ii and iii could be combined because there didn't really feel like any natural point at which to divide them, but i feel pretty strongly that part i should end at chapter 30, and i feel pretty good at starting part iv at chapter 84, which leaves 53 chapters in the middle. even if i cut many of them, that's probably still half the series right there, which seems kind of lopsided. so i ended up splitting it into two, ending on a nicely creepy scene and starting up again with one of my favorite chapters.
i played around with the titles quite a bit and at one point i was calling one of them THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA but ultimately decided that was too much. i was tempted tho. also i had the two middle books as AS YE SOW... ...SO SHALL YE REAP because of all the gardening/gravedigging/fruit of your evil labors metaphors but decided that's really kind of relevant to the whole thing and besides i was attached to the noun of noun format by then.